COO of Umbrellux DAO, Kurt Cameron, let me pick his brain on the brand, and marketing advise. Here’s how this writer turned COO created his own career path.

COO of Umbrellux DAO, Kurt Cameron, let me pick his brain on the brand, and marketing advise. Here’s how this writer turned COO created his own career path.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I was raised in
Fargo, on the North Dakota-Minnesota border. I began my career writing catalog
copy for a national supplement retailer based in Fargo. Later, after a brief
period writing for a national medical/dental supply company in Minneapolis, I
returned to Fargo where I live with my wife, three kids, and Hobbes the
cat-dog.

How
did you get started with your business?

While my goal in
college was to become a speechwriter, I quickly found that my education
provided an excellent foundation for copywriting and marketing. While in
school, I took a break to open a successful coffee house (pre-Starbucks era),
which gave me a taste for business, branding and marketing. After nearly 25
years of copywriting, brand development and eventually complete product
development, I joined with a former colleague to assist in the launch of Umbrellux
DAO.

What
has helped you succeed in your industry and on your business path?

I’ve found that
honesty and integrity are the two underlying virtues that drive success both
personally and professionally. I can’t work on something I don’t believe in,
and that comes through to both colleagues and customers. Being honest,
forthright and compassionate with employees, vendors and customers is the only
way to build strong, lasting relationships and promote confidence in the
company.

What
was a mistake you made in business and what did you learn from that mistake?

Moving too fast
is a common mistake I’ve both witnessed and engaged in myself. It’s easy to do
when you’re excited and passionate about your venture, but it’s important to
slow down and fully consider all aspects of operations before you go
full-throttle into the market. Without proper systems in place before you
begin, you’re setting yourself up for potentially catastrophic challenges down
the road. Slow your roll in order to prepare yourself for success, or your
success could turn out to be your failure.

What
surprises have you had along the way? What have you learned from those
surprises?

I’ve been
surprised by how quickly and completely our culture changes, and that pace
continues to accelerate. I started writing for catalogs. My kids ask
“what’s a catalog?” That’s an obvious one, but another more important
example is consumer expectations. Technology has not only influenced the
channels through which we do business, but has also contributed to a shift in
how we as consumers engage with companies. Again, I’ve learned that it’s
important to slow down, consider the temperature of the market, and be prepared
to serve the customer in a manner that meets and exceeds growing expectations.

What
advice do you have for those just starting out in your industry or for other
entrepreneurs?

If you don’t love
what you do or believe in what you sell, find another project. There has to be
more to your objective than base profit motive. And don’t be afraid to fail. Failures,
large and small, are educational. As Winston Churchill famously said,
“Success consists of going from failure to failure with no loss of
enthusiasm.”

What
helps you stay passionate about your goals? What are your upcoming goals?

I think anyone with
an entrepeneurial spirit is always chasing success in ways both large and
small. I’m rather task-oriented, so I approach even small tasks as
opportunities for success. And I celebrate those small successes privately,
which gives me confidence to tackle the next challenge. It could be as small as
completing this questionnaire. I’m not great at talking about myself in this
manner, so when it’s complete I will give myself a pat on the back as I let out
a sigh of relief.

What
key factors help you position your brand? What makes your brand unique?

We are in the
enviable position of having a truly unique product with virtually no
competition. We serve a very specific niche market in desperate need of
solutions, with a proven product that really works. Moreover, we spend as much
on consumer education as we do on marketing, because we know that histamine
intolerance (HIT) is vastly under-recognized. We believe that millions of
people suffer for years without knowing that there even is such a thing as HIT,
just as I did. In short, we have a product with a unique ingredient that is
exclusive to us (and our partners), and we believe in that product and use it
ourselves. At risk of using a tired buzzword, it all comes down to
authenticity.

What
marketing advice do you have for others in your industry?

Go where the
market takes you. You may begin with a focus on a particular channel, or a
particular message or brand identity, and find that the real opportunities are
elsewhere. Be agile. Listen to your customers and watch the numbers. They’ll
tell you where you need to be and how you need to present yourself.

How
do you build relationships with your customers or clients?

Back to my
earlier screed on honesty and integrity, to which I will add perseverance, empathy,
and respect. We treat everyone as a partner, whether you work for us, work with
us, or purchase from us. We are all partners in each other’s success.

Any
tips or insights on leadership, communication or growth?

Leadership is a
tricky thing, and the old cliche holds true–we lead by example. I believe that
strong leaders empower others to succeed and do not engage in demonstrations of
power or superiority. Again, we are all partners in each other’s success.
Communication is key to building a strong team. It should be timely, honest and
forthright. When it comes to internal teams, I always opt for providing too
much information rather than not enough. The more your team knows about your
business the stronger they are and the stronger the company will be. Growth in
business is directly correlated to personal growth, in my opinion, and that is
true at all levels within the organization. When we support the personal and
professional growth of our team members and ourselves, we support the growth
and the health of the company overall.

Tell
us more about you. What motivates you? What relaxes you? How do you find
balance?

I’ve approached
my entire career with one goal: to provide the best service or product that I
can to whomever my customer may be. In my coffee house days, that customer was
the individual across the counter and my business partner. In my corporate
days, that customer was the end consumer and whomever my task was serving–that
could be the CEO, the telephone service representatives, the quality control
team, the production team, etc. I am motivated by satisfying the needs of those
who rely on my work product. I relax by unplugging, ignoring the phone, and
reading. My true happy place is in the kitchen or at the grill. That’s the one
reason I stifle all my entrepreneurial inclinations toward the culinary
industry–I want to keep that pleasure for myself. I’m a libra, so balance is
built in. If I don’t maintain it, life has a way of letting me know. And back
to the start, if you love what you do, work can be play and play can be work.
Balance doesn’t have to be sought, it manifests on its own.

Heather DeSantis is a top millennial publicist and the CEO and Founder of Publicity for Good (PFG), a purpose-driven public relations firm.

A Forbes 30 Under 30 Nominee and former Miss Ohio International, Heather attended The Fund for American Studies Institute of Philanthropy and Voluntary Services at Georgetown University in 2010, and began her public relations career in 2012, working with clients including Panera Bread and two former NFL players. She then established Publicity for Good in 2016 and now leads a team of 15 remotely from an Airstream while traveling around the United States.

Heather’s disruptive approach uses public relations not to push products, but to put the spotlight on a brand’s higher purpose and socially impactful activities. This principle has guided PFG in generating millions of earned media impressions for its clients, from over 3,000 media outlets and counting.

Heather also founded Good Side News in early 2020, an online publication that aims to bring light to the positive side of life and current events amidst a global crisis.

Heather has appeared as a speaker at SXSW, Docusign Momentum, and other industry conferences. She is also a contributor for Thrive Global, Kivo Daily, and Disrupt Magazine.

Her entrepreneurial journey and nomadic way of life have been featured on major news outlets, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Entrepreneur, iHeart Media, Business Insider, MSN, and Inside Edition.

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